Oops!... Britney’s Still Not Free (Now She Is)

Pop star Britney Spears, age 39, won a major court battle in her long-running quest to take back control of her own estate and other freedoms from her father. On September 29, Judge Brenda Penny accepted her petition requesting suspension of her father James Spears’ position as conservator of her $60 Million estate and temporarily granting it to an accountant she specified. The next hearing is scheduled for November 12th where she may finally receive full control of her finances for the first time since 2008.

The “Toxic” singer was born in Mississippi in 1981 and grew up in Louisiana. She became a pop star in 1998 when she was only 17 years old with the release of her single “...Baby One More Time” which sold 25 million copies worldwide. She released “Oops... I Did It Again” in 2000, gaining her even more fame and recognition. Throughout the early 2000s, Spears had a high-profile relationship with singer Justin Timberlake and was constantly hounded by the media, especially by celebrity-chasing paparazzi. In 2004, there were reports of Spears’ “irresponsible” behavior when she was caught driving with her infant son in her lap. After her divorce in 2007 from Kevin Federline, there were continued reports of her “erratic behavior”, including shaving her head in public and smashing a paparazzi’s car with an umbrella. Amid continued questions about her mental health and infamous “breakdown” in 2007, Spears’ father successfully filed a petition to gain temporary conservatorship in a Los Angeles court in 2008.

Despite being unable to take care of her own affairs, Spears performed concerts in Las Vegas from 2013 to 2017. In 2019, she stated, through her lawyer, that she no longer wanted her father to control her finances. In June 2021, she dialed 911 stating that she was a victim of conservatorship abuse. Spears subsequently testified she was isolated, medicated, financially exploited, and emotionally abused. 

Her fans rallied to support her cause, starting a campaign titled  #FreeBritneyon social media, and making news headlines around the world. In September 2021, her father publicly stated that if Britney wanted to terminate the conservatorship and manage her own life, she should be given the chance.

BY ANIKA BASU